In the 33 years we have offered cable television service throughout Valley’s Service area, we have seen extraordinary changes in our business. We began in 1981 and today, through a continuing investment in technology and our dedicated work force, Valley also provides hundreds of cable channels and Internet services to our customers. Like many small businesses, we face daily challenges: Did someone call in sick? That may affect our front office roster. Is there severe weather on our way? We’ll have to check that our trucks are ready to roll if necessary.

Our goal is simple at Valley: We want to offer our customers dependable access to advanced video, broadband services and content choices. And, in our local communities, we want to continue to provide our customers with technology needs today and in the future. Here at Valley, we hear from customers all the time – whether we are pumping gas, at a community meeting, or even at a school event.

Recently, we have been in negotiations with Viacom/MTV Networks regarding their channels that we offer on our system. We pay programmers such as Viacom a fee per channel per month per customer for their programming. When these contracts conclude, we negotiate new agreements and often, it is a standard business transaction. But, when a multi-billion dollar company demands a significant increase in its monthly fees, we believe it’s our responsibility to take a stand.

We are in active talks with Viacom over the amount they want to charge for their networks including Nickelodeon, VH1, and Comedy Central. Viacom demanded an increase that is 40 times the rate of inflation* over last year’s fees for the same channels that you receive today – even if you don’t watch them. We believe their demands are excessive and not based on viewership or what the average American household budget can afford. Network fees account for the bulk of your monthly cable bill. As your local TV provider, we are on your side in the fight against excessive network fee increases.

In any contract negotiation, there is a “give and take” between the parties. When working with national cable programmers, we find there are far more gives – we have to give more money, give more distribution, give more space for channels customers don’t need or watch. We are often required to “bundle” cable channels that are highly viewed with additional networks that are unpopular or are simply a mix of the same shows our customers can watch on other networks owned by the same programmer. If programmers wouldn’t force us to carry some of these channels that are not highly viewed, that bandwidth could be used to expand our Internet services.

We want our customers to know that we will ask to continue airing all of Viacom’s TV channels during the contract negotiations. Viacom, however, may initiate the decision to terminate their signals. They are apparently ok with customers being upset, in pursuit of their goal to extract fee increases, which drives cable bills higher. We are ready to keep these channels on the air while our negotiations with Viacom continue, if they will reverse their decision to pull the signal from operators during negotiations. We’re working to resolve these differences and believe that it’s important to explain to our customers the real story behind these changes. Viacom will continue to get paid for its programming during the negotiations.

For anyone who manages a small business, the only constant is change. It’s hard to imagine that 30 years ago, our company offered telephone services only. But through constant investment in technology – which is an investment in the communities of Hosmer, Eureka, Ipswich, Herreid, Leola, LongLake, Glenham, Pollock, and Mound City – we are leading the way and look forward to continuing to provide these services.

Please continue to check our website or Valley Video Channel 2 for the most current updates.

Valley is committed to providing quality services that exceed our customers’ expectations with our services, and our customer service. We will provide a company atmosphere that promotes continued growth and prosperity of our employees, company and community.